I am a twenty-one-year-old male college student and I live in a fraternity house. I am finding that when I sit around the house, I get bored when I am not studying and often resort to going into the kitchen, and grabbing or making a snack. They are usually not the healthiest, but I always say that "it's only one." Then I feel really guilty after I eat it. I am starting to put the pounds back on now. I do work out, but don't have time to get into a set schedule. I try to keep myself busy, but I still eat a lot. Do you have any tips on how I can motivate myself or choose other activities that will push me away from the kitchen and the "College Diet?" Thanks.

— Fat Frat Guy

Dear Fat Frat Guy,

You write that you're sitting around the frat house bored. It sounds as though you may have more time to fit in activity than you realize. Exercise doesn't always need to be a long, intensive workout. Short, frequent bouts can be just as effective as longer ones. Why not go out for a walk? Does your frat house have weights in the basement or other area? Taking advantage of exercise equipment is a great idea, but if there isn't any available, jumping rope between sets of push-ups and sit-ups, in your room or a living room or den, can help alleviate boredom.

If these ideas aren't possible, or you still need some suggestions to resist snacking, a few questions to ask yourself may help. First of all, are you actually hungry? When was the last time you ate? Could you put off eating for 15 minutes? If you can wait 15 minutes and then see how you feel, you may decide that you really weren't hungry after all, or you may even forget all about that snack. If you don't and still want to eat — try to quantify your hunger.

Consider the Hunger and Fullness scale. On a scale from 0 - 10, with 0 being BEYOND HUNGRY as though you haven't eaten in an entire day (not recommended) and 10 representing BEYOND FULL as if you ate three Thanksgiving dinners — again not recommended, see where your hunger or fullness falls:

0

Beyond hungry

1

Extremely hungry, irritable, and cranky

2

Very hungry

3

You have a strong urge to eat, but aren't ready to fall over.

4

Just a little hungry

5

Totally neutral... neither hungry nor full

6

You are a notch past neutral — you could eat more but aren't hungry

7

You are feeling satisfied. If you stopped eating at this point, you would need to eat again in about 4 - 4½ hrs.

8

You are getting pretty full. If you stopped eating at this level, you would probably get hungry again in 5 - 6 hours.

9

You are getting really full, and uncomfortable.

10

Beyond full

One way to use this scale is to try to rate your feelings of hunger and fullness. You have to work on paying attention to your body's signals. Make an agreement with yourself that you will eat when your hunger is at 3, and stop eating when you reach 7. If you can ask yourself how you are feeling before taking a snack, you may be able to alleviate or at least cut down on boredom eating. Remember, food's for nutrition and nourishment. If another part of yourself needs nourishment, it's important to figure out what that is and create other ways of meeting that need. Excessive snacking often catches up with us in the form of excess pounds, as you have found. If you repeatedly find yourself eating when you aren't hungry, or when you are no longer hungry, you probably don't need those excess calories.

So, once you realize that you aren't hungry, there are probably a ton of things you can do to pass the time. Getting off your duff and moving your body — somewhere further away from the kitchen — would be a good start!